Shloka 42
गोप्रदानगुणाः तथा कपिलागोविधानम्
Merits of Cow-Gift and the Origin-Account of Kapilā Cows
बलान्विता: शीलवयोपपन्ना: सर्वा: प्रशंसन्ते सुगन्धवत्य: । यथा हि गंगा सरितां वरिष्ठा तथार्जुनीनां कपिला वरिष्ठा
balānvitāḥ śīlavayopapannāḥ sarvāḥ praśaṃsante sugandhavatyaḥ | yathā hi gaṅgā saritāṃ variṣṭhā tathārjunīnāṃ kapilā variṣṭhā ||
قال بهيشما: «إن هذه الأبقار جميعًا—الممتلئة قوةً، الحسنة السيرة، وفي أوج الشباب—تُمدَح بأنها عطرةٌ وممتازة. وكما أن الغانغا أسبق الأنهار وأعلاها، كذلك كابيلا هي أسبق أبقار الأرجوني وأفضلها».
पितामह उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights standards of excellence in gifts and virtues: just as the Gaṅgā is held supreme among rivers, a superior cow (Kapilā among the Arjunī line) is praised as an ideal for righteous giving and merit-oriented conduct.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma is describing and praising exemplary cows—strong, well-behaved, youthful, and even ‘fragrant’—and singles out Kapilā as the foremost among the Arjunī cows, using the Gaṅgā as a comparison for supremacy.